7.03am: I'm spending the day at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, where UK squad members will be battling it out for a place in the final team. Amongst other things, I'll be meeting competitors in electronics, floristry, restaurant service and mobile robotics. The skills minister John Hayes will also be at the event and I'll be catching up with him towards the end of the afternoon. Heading off to catch the train now, but I'll be posting regular updates from about 1pm today.

1.05pm: Just arrived at the college. Two days into the four day team selection event, things are going well, I'm told. There was a bit of a setback for the landscape gardeners when the wall they were building collapsed, but some quick thinking they managed to get things back on track and the garden is now taking shape.

The competitors are benefiting from having a group of international visitors from China, France, Norway, Japan, Australia and Finland (also prospective competitors in the WorldSkills London 2011) working alongside them. Although the international visitors won't be judged on their performance here, they do provide a useful benchmark for how the UK team match up to the international competition.

1.30pm: Just heading off for a tour of the college. First stop has to be the confectionery competitors - hope they're making chocolate.

1.35pm: Just having a few technical problems - back in mo...

2.30pm: Just been watching 21-year-old Stefan Howells at work. He's hoping to be selected to represent the UK in confectioner/pastry cook category. Over the four day selection event, he will have to demonstrate his skill at marzipan modelling, sugarcraft, chocolate-making (sadly that's tomorrow) and designing and making plated desserts. The biggest challenge for the competitors, says training manager Yolande Stanley, is time management. The temptation could be to spent too much time on the presentation piece made of sugar - at the expense of other parts of the 22 hour selection task. I'm hoping to pop back later to see these presentation pieces.

In the meantime, I'll post some pictures of Stefan's marzipan modelling (can you guess what inspired him?) and marzipan fruit made by Inger Marie Braastad from Norway - one of the international vistors competing alongside him.

At the moment, everyone is milling around the reception area waiting for the skills minister John Hayes who is due any minute and has agreed to have a go at bricklaying.

guardian.co.uk

3.07pm: Some of Stefan Howell's marzipan work:

2.40pm: Things seem very tense at restaurant service, where Wojciech Pastor, who works at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland is serving afternoon tea to members of the public.

3.31pm: Landscape gardening training manager Harry Turner has been telling me about the training task. The pressure is really on because just two of the three competitors here today will make the final team. Over the four day event they need to demonstrate a range of high-level skills including paving, dry stone walling and building a complex water feature. Here's a picture of Simon Abbott, 21, from Askham Bryan College in York. Photo to follow.

Simon Abbott, Askham Bryan College guardian.co.uk

3.00pm:

3.30: The skills minister John Hayes has arrived. After a quick tour of the college, he tried his hand at bricklaying, under the expert guidance of bricklaying tutor Michael Tearne. Pictures and audio to follow.

Skills minister John Hayes with Marian Plant, principal of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College guardian.co.uk

3.50pm:

4.00pm: Just off to see the competitors as they finish up their work for the day. More to follow...

4.10pm: By the way, you can listen to what John Hayes has to say about WorldSkills London 2011 above.

Just been along to see how the mobile robotics and graphics design competitors are getting on. Stuart Young from the London-based design company Purpose has been working with squad members Jon Cleave (from the Arts University College, Bournemouth) and Matt Fitzgerald from North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. During the course of the four day selection event, they will have to - amongst other things - design corporate branding, logos and packaging. Today's task is to redesign the game of Snakes & Ladders for a Canadian audience.

Jon Cleave working on his Snakes & Ladders design guardian.co.uk

4.45pm: Jon Cleave working on his Snakes & Ladders design

5.10pm: The competitors are now coming to the end of their day's work. Time for a quick catch up with North Warwickshire and Hinckley's principal Marion Hunt. She's exhausted after hosting visitors from a range of government departments and organisations, including the NAS, SFA, BIS and Lord Kenneth Baker, chairman of the education charity Edge. One high point of the day was the guests' lunch which was cooked and served by college students.

The college also played host to the local MP, lecturers, principals and students from other colleges and Brathay, an organisation that provides training for squad competitors.

While Hunt is excited about the WorldSkills London 2011 competition in October, what is most important is to keep that buzz and excitement about skills going beyond the competition, she says.

Presentation piece made from sugar guardian.co.uk

Just popped back to see how the confectioner/pastry cook competitors are getting on...and here's one of those presentation pieces I was looking forward to seeing earlier.

The skills minister John Hayes doing a spot of bricklaying... guardian.co.uk

5.34pm: The competitors are finishing up for the day and I'm off too. It's been a fascinating day and reminder of how competition can breed excellence. And before I go, here's a memorable image of the skills minister laying a brick with the help of bricklaying tutor Michael Tearne...